Tell me, does this describe you? Excessive barking from your new puppy is driving you nuts. These barking problems were the last thing you expected from that ball of fluff. How can you stop puppy barking before you lose your mind?

Most Puppy Barking Is To Get Attention

Your puppy is scared of being alone. This is perfectly natural when you consider that he’s always been around his mom and his littermates. When a puppy first leaves his family, it’s a scary experience for him.

The problem is that it’s very easy to give your puppy attention every time he barks and whines because you know he’s lonely and scared. Giving your puppy attention is not the problem, but when you give it to him is the key.

Don’t give him attention when he’s whining or barking. Wait for him to quiet down, even if it’s just for a couple of seconds. That’s when you pet him and praise him. This can be difficult, as nuisance barking from a puppy is often very high-pitched.

You may want to put a few pennies in an empty pop can and tape it closed. Rattle this noisemaker when your pup is barking, and the noise will hopefully startle him into silence. Distract him quickly with a toy or a walk or some other attention. It’s important that he stops barking completely before you distract him, or he’ll think you’re rewarding him for barking.

How To Prevent Barking Problems In Puppies

You may think your barking puppy is cute now, but he won’t be so cute in a few months. It’s much easier to teach him good habits from the start, rather than trying to end bad ones later. Start basic dog obedience training early so that he’s used to listening to you. Puppy classes are a great idea. He’ll learn to obey you even when there are many distractions around.

Ignore your puppy as much as possible if he barks or whines for attention. Use a noisemaker to startle him into silence as described above before giving him attention.

Teach him to bark on command. Then teach him to stop on command. It’s up to you as the owner to teach him when it’s the right time to bark. You need to be the pack leader so that he looks to you for guidance.

Don’t encourage him to bark at people. A good watchdog doesn’t bark at anyone walking by the house.

Avoid making a big fuss when you leave and come home to keep him from developing separation anxiety in dogs. Your comings and goings should be low-key.

Take him with you as much as you can so that he’s exposed to many new people and situations. At home, run the vacuum cleaner or the hair dryer to get him used to new sounds. Take it slowly so that he’s not scared or anxious. If he barks or whines, wait until he stops and calms down before you praise him.

Stop A Barking Puppy Now

Your goal? Start using these suggestions now to nip excessive barking in the bud, and to avoid barking problems in the future. If nuisance barking is already a problem with your pup, you need to look for a good dog training course as soon as you can.

Darlene Norris has worked at a vet clinic and an animal shelter, and has had lots of experience with dogs. If you need to stop puppy barking, and solve other dog behavior problems, visit No More Bad Dogs at http://NoMoreBadDogs.com to learn about a dog training course that will work wonders!

If you are living with a new puppy, there are lots of things that both of you need to learn, but one of the most important lessons that he or she is going to have from you is that it is unacceptable to bite! Dogs, just like humans, are creatures of habit, and if they form habits early on in life, you will find them much more difficult to break the longer that they get ingrained. A puppy nipping at you is one thing. You may be able to ignore it, but a dog that continues to bite, even playfully, as an adult is a danger to himself and to others. Take some time to learn about puppy biting and what you can do to get rid of it.

First, be aware that biting is natural behavior for a puppy. A puppy that constantly bites and nips at you is not vicious; he is only exploring the world around him with the tools that are at his disposal. He is mouthing things and learning about them, and when he bites, he is also likely exercising his muscles and learning what kind of dexterity and strength that he has. Puppies who play with each other will play-bite at each other all day if they can.

When you are getting ready to take on puppy biting, remember that you should not punish your puppy unless you catch him in the act. Unless he is biting you when you reprimand him, he is not going to have any idea what is going on. You will also find that it is possible to correct him without striking him. A puppy who gets hit is going to one that grows up easily startled and confused and when you want to make sure that your puppy grows up healthy and happy, this precisely the wrong tack to take!

You can learn a lot from how to keep a puppy from biting by watching adult dogs deal with them. When a puppy bites its mother, the mother will utter a short sharp yelp. If the puppy persists, she will march off and refuse to play with the puppy for a while. You can take this precise technique and use it yourself. When you puppy becomes too energetic or stops paying attention to how hard he or she is biting, say “ow!” in a high pitched sharp voice. The idea is to startle the puppy into stopping. If the puppy starts up again, walk away and refuse to pay any attention to the puppy for a while. This will tell the puppy that too much biting will result in playtime being over.

When you are training your puppy not to bite, remember that you should not engage in games like tug of war with the puppy. This can be a confusing thing for a puppy to deal with, so just avoid games like this for the moment. Dress your puppy up in cute dog clothes, take them for walks, but avoid rough and tumble games for a bit.

There are lots of ways to stop your puppy from biting, so take some time and really consider what techniques you want to use!